New York Giants: Victor Cruz announces retirement from NFL

Former New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz has officially announced his retirement from the NFL, a year and a half after being cut.

It’s a sad day for New York Giants fans. Former stand-out wide receiver Victor Cruz has officially announced his retirement from the NFL. Initially announced in a YouTube video on Tuesday from Uninterrupted the former Giant has decided to call it quits.

Cruz showed the talent he contains right from the get-go. An undrafted free agent out of UMass, Cruz posted three touchdowns in his first ever preseason game against the Jets. This became a huge reason for eventually making the regular season squad that year. However, he didn’t see much playing time at all.

Returning in 2011 for his sophomore season is when Cruz made a huge name for himself in New York. Replacing Domenik Hixon, who went down with an ACL tear, Cruz posted 82 receptions for 1536 yards and nine touchdowns. This, of course, helped the Giants in a huge way towards winning Super Bowl XLVI.

The salsa-dancer continued his NFL stardom into 2012 and 2013. He posted 86 receptions, 1092 yards and 10 touchdowns and 73 receptions, 998 yards and four touchdowns respectively. However, 2014 is when things began to turn south for the receiver. In a Week 6 matchup against the Eagles, Cruz tore his patellar tendon, sidelining him for the remainder of the season. From then on, things were never the same.

Cruz ended up being sidelined for the entire 2015 season as well, as he remained plagued by injuries. Returning in 2016, he became overshadowed by other Big Blue receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard. Cruz only caught 39 passes for 586 yards and one score—not exactly ideal numbers compared to previous years. The Giants eventually released him in February of 2017, putting his up-and-down career as a Giant to an end.

Regardless of the injury-plagued years, Victor Cruz was a prominent receiver in New York for numerous seasons. His big plays and entertaining personality on and off the field will be remembered by Giants fans for years to come.